World's Largest Horse

Digger

Digger - Photo of the World's largest horse?
Well, Digger, at only four years old (a teenager in equine
terms), currently measures 19 hands and 2 inches, and is Britain’s largest
horse. This huge Clydesdale is eating and growing his way into becoming
contender for the world’s record largest steed.Digger is so
large that his handler, Lisa McFarlane, has difficulty recording his exact
size. With his head up, Digger measures close to 9 feet tall. (Horses are
conventionally measured in 4 inch ‘hands’ from the ground to the withers; the
highest point of the back just before the animal’s neck). In Digger’s case, that’s about 6 feet 6
inches. He measures 8 feet 5 inches (3.05 meters) from his ears to the
top of his tail, and his hooves are 15 inches (35 centimeters) across.

Digger is now ‘neck and neck’ with Cracker and Tina,
contending for the title. Cracker is a Shire horse in Lincolnshire who
measured 19 hands and 2 inches in 2005. Tina is a Shire from Tennessee (USA),
and was dubbed the tallest horse in the world last year, standing in at 20
hands.

Digger, the floppy-fringed Shire horse was an orphan and
didn’t have the best start in life. Due to serious health problems, his owners
could no longer care for Digger, so he was taken to the International League
for the Protection of Horses’ Belwade Farm in Aboyne, Scotland, shortly before
Christmas.

Despite his “ruff start”, Digger has grown strong and
healthy, weighing 1,980 pounds (900 kilos), eating 3 times more than an
ordinary horse, and drinking between 20 to 25 gallons of water a day. He
devours 42 to 55 pounds (19 to 25 kilos) of food a day, including 3 servings of
cereal grain, and chomps through a 4 foot bale of hay every 2 days. Treats include
his daily morning chocolate muffin, plus gifts from visitors — about 4 apples
or carrots per day.

At night Digger is covered with a 7 foot 9 inch long
blanket to keep warm. The strapping stallion is so large that he has to be
transported by a specialized truck. Farm manager Eileen Gillen said, “He
is the largest horse we have ever had. He is the equivalent of a growing
teenage boy (never out of the fridge). Heaven knows what size he is going to
end up.”

Though some may find Digger’s size daunting and
intimidating, he’s made best friends at the farm with Sweep — a 12 year old
mini Shetland pony who stands merely 34 inches (85 centimeters) tall and can
walk straight under Digger’s belly.

Clydesdale horses originated from the valley of the River
Clyde and developed as a breed in the early 1700’s. They have typically
been used as work horses on farms and for long distance haulage, due to their
magnitude in size and muscular power. The average Clydesdale’s
life span is between 20 to 25 years.

The world's largest
horse at 19.2 hands and 3,200 lbs. "Brookie" wore a 40-inch collar
and boasted a girth measurement of 10 feet, 2 inches around. It took 30 inches
of iron for each of his horseshoes. Foaled in 1928, he eventually became the
property of C.G. Good of Iowa. Good's partner, Ralph Fogleman, exhibited the
big horse around the country, charging spectators 10 cents apiece. Brookie died
in 1948.

Duke

New world record for biggest horse 2008

A colossal shire horse in Australia has been proclaimed the biggest
horse in the world by its owner, beating the current Guinness World Record by
several inches.

The giant five-year-old, from Pakenham, S.E Australia, measures a staggering
20.1 hands, or 2.057m tall. He weighs over 1.3 tonnes (1300kg) - about the same
as a small car - and is still growing.

His owner, horse trainer Jane Greenman, 47, says the only time the lumbering
beast runs is when there is food on offer.

"It sounds like a mountain moving when he gallops across the paddock to
come and get his breakfast," she says. "He eats an incredible amount.
I would hate to run a team of eight horses his size - it would send you
broke."

Mounting the horse is no easy task, either. "We have to use a ladder to
get on top of him, or swing off a tree," says Jane.

The massive horse, whose full name is Luscombe Nordram, was born in
Australia to a mare and sire imported from England. Noddy's grandfather,
Ladbrooke Edward (UK) was the world's tallest horse during the 1980's.

But Jane had no idea that the foal she hand-reared from the age of six
months would grow this big. Noddy immediately began to rocket and soon overtook
both his parents in size.

"Every year I measure him on his birthday and we discovered that he was
getting really huge."

Although she says that she is not interested in the Guiness Book of Records,
nevertheless Jane has carried out her own research and is sure that Noddy comes
top.